Birthday Night

So, my husband is pretty much awesome. For my birthday night he surprised me with a night alone in a hotel room. It may sound weird, but I think most moms would agree that it is a darn good gift. I stayed at a Hotel Indigo which was kind of modern and super comfy. I picked up snacks for myself on the way and a trashy mag. I finished my book (Hunger Games), ate chips in bed while watching HGTV, and had a large piece of delicious chocolate cake.


That bed was all mine!!!

I forgot money for the valet, so Phillip and Lu came to see me the next morning to bail me out. Lu used it as an opportunity to jump on the bed.

Ross Bridge

When we were in Birmingham last week we stayed at Ross Bridge. Lu and I had an awesome time playing in the pool while Dad worked. It was like a mini vacation. Being in the middle of the week, there weren't too many people there. That was great. Daddy even played a little hooky the day we left and went swimming too. We haven't been able to do anything like that as a family and it was so awesome. We also got to see some of our best friends for dinner that night. It was a really quick trip and there surely wasn't enough time to see everyone we would have liked to. Guess we will have to make another trip.

The view from our room.

Playing in the pool.

Taking a break from swimming. Saying cheese with a mouth full of cheesy goldfish. Fun Mommy and Daughter time!

After a good nap we went Mallory and Bryan's for a cookout. We had 10 kids between all of us. It was crazy, but fun. Our cookouts are quite different than they used to be.

All of the little girls sat together. They are all within a year of each other.
They have a "roller coaster" that Lu loved! She couldn't go fast enough. This is what her face looked like every time!

We even had cake for my birthday. I celebrated with two 7 year olds and a 5 year old. It was great!!! and the girls had a dance party! This is how we looked when we got back to the hotel after the party.
Then Daddy took us swimming the next morning. We had a blast!!
Lu (and Dad) loved the slide.

Our First Movie

This afternoon we took Lu to her first movie in the theater. I have been really excited to do this, but wasn't sure how she would do. We saw Cars 2. She liked the first, so I thought this might be good to start with. She did really well, but started to get pretty fidgety toward the end. We definitely will do it again. It was a lot of fun. Mostly because I ate a ton of popcorn.

Don't worry, that is Sprite.

Under Construction

Phillip, Lu, and I just got back from a quick trip to Birmingham to do a little checking on our house, playing in the pool, and visiting with friends. If you didn't know, the house we rent out in Birmingham was damaged in the tornadoes a couple of months ago and we are having things fixed. Luckily we are very happy with our contractor and the work that is being done. The sad part is that our street is virtually unrecognizable. It is very sad. There are no trees left and just looks weird. They said that it was a F-2 tornado that didn't touch down. At least it didn't touch down. I can only imagine the damage it could have done if it had. Luckily everyone was safe. If you knew our house before, it is so crazy to see the change.

Below:

The house looks fine, but the yard is amazing. That green house was not visible before the storm.

Carport side of the house, looking into the backyard. The rebuilt addition is the yellow color.

Our backyard. Very sad looking. We used to have trees. Our yard stops where the trees begin.

The addition.

The neighbor to our left has A LOT of work to do. They had a ton of damage. We used to not be able to see into their backyard.
Our front yard. Still waiting on FEMA to pick up these giants.
So much for putting the house on the market. More fun pictures from out trip to come.

Chomping at the Bit

This weekend we found a new friend. His name was Froggy Froggy. We found him stuck to our back door. This cute little frog stayed with us for most of Saturday. We made the mistake of leaving him in the house when we went to a friend's house and when we returned he had made his great escape. Luckily Phillip found him all wrapped up in a dust bunny later that night. Poor thing was terrified. Lu kept saying how "cute" he was. We had to set him free so he could find his Mommy and Daddy. We thought he might be missing them.

And this girl loves some corn! She pretty much doesn't miss a kernel. I just thought she looked cute eating it.

Daddy is so silly.

Natural Science Lesson

Today we went to the LSU Museum of Natural Science. It is just a free little museum run by the department there. Lu was not quite sure what to make of all of the stuffed animals. Not the kind of stuffed animals she is used to. We learned that she doesn't like snakes or large bears. She does like rabbits and tiny frogs. There wasn't much to it, but it was something free to do on a hot day.

Attention Ben Skipper: This is Lu in front of birds of prey in your honor. We needed you there to tell us more about them.

She did like the polar bear, because it was behind glass.

We kept going back to the rabbit and saying "Aww, it's so cute."

Then she actually wanted to take a picture. That's because it was with Mike the Tiger. This is the actual first Mike that LSU had. I'm trying to be better about posting.

Rainy Days

It has been a little rainy here lately and today was no exception. The morning was touch and go and I thought that we would brave the zoo. We made it without getting really wet, so that was nice. It was a little break from the suffocating heat. Our friends met us there and the girls had a great time.

After nap we played in our big girl room for a while. We played beauty parlor and pretended her rug was a swimming pool. The tutu was her "bathing soup". That is why there is no shirt on. She also lined up all of her animals so they could watch her swim. All eyes on her, always. Do you think a new baby is going to rock her world or what?!?!

Linely and Lucy.

About to play beauty parlor and swimming pool. Notice the audience.

And meet our newest member, Jonathan. We "feed" him every morning. Tonight Jonathan got a haircut and we have really enjoyed taking care of him. He came from Lowe's if you're interested; they have other animals too. We're not really sure why she named him Jonathan, but it has stuck.